Michele Bachmann "Represents" Minnesota on Hardball

Admitting that the United States is imperfect is not the same as being "anti-American."

States like Minnesota are getting a lot of attention these days as we close in on the final two weeks of the race for the presidency. Political parties and the media alike are looking at the states that could swing the election one way or another. Unfortunately this week one of Minnesota's representatives (and I use that term loosely) Michele Bachmann found a national stage on Chris Matthews' Hardball to fan the flames of Sarah Palin's recent incendiary statements.

Steve Perry, writing for The Minnesota Independent, had this to say about the interview:

"Following Rep. Michele Bachmann's appearance with Chris Matthews [Friday], America is learning what many in Minnesota already knew, which is that putting Bachmann in front of a live microphone is like handing an excitable 15-year-old a bottle of gin and a loaded gun. The only question is when something unspeakable is going to happen."

What seems to be getting the most attention (even prompting a challenge for Bachmann's Congressional seat from within the GOP) is Bachmann's call for the media to investigate members of Congress to see which ones may have "anti-American views."

The problem with statements like this, as well as Sarah Palin's "Our opponent is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists... " is that they allow Americans to never have to learn from the past and change for the better. If something is already perfect then there is no reason to change it.

These statements are in direct contradiction with anything these leaders of the GOP might say about future change. When Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann claim to know that mistakes have been made and, therefore, changes need to be made, well, that is contradictory to the idea of perfection. Either something is perfect or it is imperfect. And (spoiler alert) nothing, including America, is perfect. Therefore, stating that you want to change what is wrong with it should not be seen as being in opposition to loving it.

When we strive for the best possible version of something, we are refusing to sell it short. When we say that the U.S., like everything else, is imperfect, that it needs to be worked on--in order to learn from where we have been and end up in a better place--that in no way should be seen negatively.

And it certainly should not be seen as anti-American. Allowing the country to continue down the same path, deeper and deeper into failure, should, however, be seen that way.



Crossposted at Guernica Magazine

Way to Go America!

I just voted in every national poll asking the question "Who won last night's VP Debate." I don't think I've ever voted in such a poll, but it seems that for the time being these things play a big role in people's opinions or at least people put a lot of trust in them. So I went ahead and cast my votes for Joe "six pack" Biden. I was pleasantly surprised by these polls. Even the Fox News polls had Joe "commutes in and out of Washington everyday, proving he is not part of the boy's club that is D.C." Biden winning the debate like 59% to 40%. Maybe Americans can see through the note-card reading, tag-line saying, unable to actually answer a question, winking b.s. that was Sarah Palin's side of the debate last night. Thus, Wat to go America!!

If you feel like taking a couple minutes to respond to these polls click here>>>. Every little bit helps, right?

Ok, I wasn't going to write any more about last night's debate, because it already seems like spinning wheels (everyone seems to be on the same page), but I have to talk about the woman who was commenting on msnbc.com immediately following the debate. I think it was Geraldine Anne Ferraro, but I can't find the video. Anyway, she said something along the lines of she wanted her granddaughters to be able to look back on last night as an historic moment for women, and she thought that, given Sarah Palin's performance, they would be able to do that. I am still floored by some women's response to Sarah Palin. It really does seem that only because she is a woman they feel proud. It just doesn't make sense to me. Why is this not more of an insult? Why does any woman who actually has even a minimal amount of intelligence feel anything resembling pride when this woman speaks? I'm baffled by it. If anyone has seen the clip from msnbc.com please let me know, so I can post it.

You Don't Even Have to Change Sarah Palin's Words to Make Fun of Her on SNL

Watch Sarah Palin's original answer here, then watch the SNL spoof on it. Tina Fey pretty much just reads the transcript.

John Cusack and Chris Farley

In an article in the Huffington Post yesterday John Cusack had some insightful and scathing things to say about the McCain/Palin ticket taking the horrid and criminal tactics of the Bush/Cheney years to a whole new level. Scary thought, but one that's becoming easier and easier to imagine the more and more these people talk...and by talk, I mean lie. Can you imagine looking back two years from now if McCain is president (or maybe it would be at his funeral when president Palin is being sworn in) and thinking, "Wow, I sure wish W was still president"? I can. I had no idea that this threat existed. I thought we had seen the worst.

But, you're probably wondering just what Chris Farley has to do with any of this. Well, here's a bit from Cusack's piece at HP:

Now, no one in their right mind -- including reasonable independents and Republicans -- wants to double down on neocon ideology, but here comes the "maverick" and his economic advisers to use the crises we face to implement more "change" and "reform" to the system by privatizing everything in sight. Is this what the American people want? When they are aware of it, the answer is always no. It's the same bullshit re-branded.

Remind you of something?

Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?

Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

(From the 1995 movie Tommy Boy starring Chris Farley)

Replace "customer's" with "country's" and "daughter's" with "economy's" and I think we have a pretty dead-on description of what we've had to deal with and what we will continue to deal with if we let McCain/Palin shit in a box and stamp it with the Bush seal of approval, the same seal of approval that, as Cusack put it, allowed for "a fuck of a lot of innocent people die." All the while being branded and guaranteed as the right thing to do.

Clinton/Palin Hypocrisy

I can't believe I hadn't made this connection. When the Clintons have a private matter, let's impeach Bill. When the Palins have a private family matter, then let's just stay the hell out of it.

From Frank Rich's The Palin-Whatshisname Ticket in the Times:

The same gang that once fueled Internet rumors and media feeding frenzies over the Clintons’ private lives now express pious outrage when the same fate befalls the Palins.

These people have no principles. It's all about staying in power. It has nothing to do with beliefs. But, well, by now that's an obvious statement. Otherwise someone wouldn't be up for the job of VP.

In Case You Haven't Seen It

I can't say it better than my friend Paul, so:

And a clue to Palin: It ain't no "worldview," it's an approach to foreign policy that took us preemptively into Iraq, and it could take us preemptively into Iran, North Korea, or Syria. Whether you agree with it or not, a vice president should have some semblance of an idea what it means. A lot is at stake folks.

The most important part of that quote is, "Whether you agree with it or not, a vice president should have some semblance of an idea what it means." It hearkens back to John Stewart's comments on the Obama/elitist issue: These people should be a whole lot smarter than us. So smart, in fact, that if we were to ever walk into a room with them, we should immediately feel embarrassed by just how stupid we are. I don't want someone in power who I think I might possibly be smarter than. I have enough friends; I don't give a fuck if I think it might be a good time to have a beer with one of them.

John McCain Rips Sarah Palin

John McCain, Oct. 21, 2007 (discrediting the experience of former NYC mayor Giuliani and former Massachussets Gov. Mitt Romney):

“I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time.”

Check out Eyeteeth for Sarah Palin ripping John McCain.

Exactly

"It's absurd. It's totally absurd."

616 Votes to Win the 1996 Mayor's Election in Wasilla, Alaska. I Bet Obama Talked to That Many People In a Couple of Days Back in the Windy City

I have to admit that I have not finished watching Palin's speech from last night; I was simply too pissed off by what I was watching to take it all in one shot. I did, however, listen long enough to hear her joke about Obama's experience as a community organizer, which pissed me off more than anything up to that point.

Here's a response sent out from the Obama camp today that I agree strongly with.


From David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, Obama for America:

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let's clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

But you can send a crystal clear message.

Enough is enough. Make your voice heard loud and clear by making a $25 donation right now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/fightback

Thank you for joining more than 2 million ordinary Americans who refuse to be silenced.

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

And check out this story breaking down all the lies Palin and McCain and their cronies are passing off as their talking points.

Who Is Sarah Palin?

It's becoming abundantly clear that not even the man who chose this woman as his running mate can answer that question, having met her only once or twice before offering her the position. McCain's decision to choose Palin as his running mate is like a child who can't get his way and frustrated by that fact pouts and says fine, do whatever you want: "But I want my buddy Joe Lieberman. I can't have him?!?! Fine you just pick it then, I don't care."

Here is some useful information about the person Republicans want as their future VP, someone who apparently they believe could step up on Day 1 and handle the responsibilities of the presidency. Screw what they said before, it's a new ball game, and experience is not, apparently, as important as they have been claiming it is:

MSNBC

Yahoo News

Frederick Lane at Guernica

Robert Reich at Guernica

MoveOn.org